AJ Pollock punctuated a resurgent 2020 season by hitting two home runs Sunday to help the Los Angeles Dodgers complete a sweep of the L.A. Angels. The Dodgers won all six Freeway Series meetings this season and head into the postseason with a wave of momentum behind them.
That also applies to Pollock on an individual level, as he batted .294/.322/.659 with one double, 10 home runs and 17 RBI over 22 games in September. Pollock set a new career high for homers in a single month, surpassing the nine he hit in March/April to start the 2018 season.
“For sure it’s better to be feeling good at the plate than not,” Pollock said. “But the season is closed out and we start the playoffs, none of it means anything. We start over and everything goes back to zero, so hopefully me personally and the team can keep this thing rolling.”
Pollock finished the year batting .276/.314/.566 with nine doubles, 16 home runs and 34 RBI. He tied with Mookie Betts for the team lead in home runs and seventh overall. Pollock additionally gave the Dodgers an MLB-best four players with at least 15 homers this season.
“We have a lot of good power hitters on this team. We’ve got some guys that can hit balls pretty far,” Pollock said. “I’ve had stretches where I’ve felt like the power has always been there; it’s never really my goal. Just trying to be in good positions as long as I can and keep attacking the pitches I want to attack.
“If I do that, I know there’s going to be some power numbers.”
Overcoming adversity, family concerns
On top of remaining healthy, Pollock’s success this season is all the more remarkable and gratifying considering personal challenges he endured. The veteran outfielder and his wife welcomed a daughter, who was born premature and spent four months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and during that time Pollock tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
“Just a lot of stuff going on,” Pollock reflected. “In the past, with adversity, I’ve kind of just let it get to me and make it bigger than it is. This year, I felt like I did a pretty good job of staying in the moment and taking it in stride. Kate did such a good job of handling it.
“I think the hardest thing was when I had to come here and she was still back in Arizona. That was pretty awful for both of us. You just work through all that stuff and got to a group here where the wives are really close and obviously the players are really close.
“It’s an environment where you feel really good when you get here even if you’ve been through a lot of stuff. Everyone is pulling for each other, everyone’s got each other’s back. This is where we wanted to be.”
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